Directions: In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Then add the brown sugar, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and stir by hand until combined (will look lumpy and strange). Then add the graham cracker crumbs and stir until combined. Finally, add the Nutella and peanut butter and stir until combined. Press the mixture into a sprayed 9 x 9 pan (for thinner bars, use a 9 x 13 pan but I prefer thicker bars). Place in freezer.

While the bars are cooling, make the chocolate frosting by melting the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl, taking care not to scorch them and checking every 15-30 seconds or so. After the chocolate chips are melted add in butter and cream and stir to incorporate. Then add powdered sugar and vanilla extract and stir to incorporate. If mixture becomes too thick to work with and the chocolate begins to set up, microwaving it again for 15 seconds will soften it.

When the frosting is ready, remove the bars from the freezer, frost them, and put bars back into the freezer to set up for a half hour before slicing them.

I store my sliced bars in the freezer or fridge in an airtight container and take them out about 20 minutes prior to eating. As they come up to room temperature, the flavor intensifies and they are more delicious and creamy but they will keep for weeks/months in the freezer as a make-ahead dessert.

Notes & Substitutions:

To make this vegan, replace all butter and cream with margarine and almond or soy milk. Rather than using Nutella use all peanut butter, use chocolate peanut butter that is vegan-safe, or add some cocoa powder to the nut butter of your choice.

To make this gluten free, use GF graham cracker crumbs.

If you don’t like Nutella, don’t have it, have a peanut allergy, want to use different ratios or types of nut butters, etc. feel free to try them. More than likely most substitutions will work just fine. You’re looking for approximately 1 to 1.5 cups of nut butter, total, in whatever type and combination you prefer.

It’s like the bar version of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. The graham cracker crumbs, combined with the sugar, butter, and Nutella, make a really close approximation of a Reese’s PB Cup.

And that’s a beautiful thing.

This is the type of dessert I’d recommend cutting the pieces fairly small. They are like lead balloons of sugar and butter and nut butter in your belly, which is wonderful. And filling.

But suit yourself and cut them big, by all means!

This recipe looks longer and far more complicated than it is. It took me longer to type this up than make these bars. Truly, a 5-minute special of active prep time. I was just being extra thorough with the directions and notes based on questions I anticipate receiving.

From my last post featuring our Aruba Vacation Highlights, thanks for saying it was fun for you to see. It was fun for me to post! And I loved hearing about your favorite vacation memories and stories.

Questions

1. Best thing you’ve ate or done so far this weekend?

These bars rank right up there and Sunday I plan to take lots of pictures. I love planning and scheduling photo-making time for myself. It’s like a date with myself and my camera. It’s such a nice thing for me to have that penciled in on my mental calendar and I look forward to it but it’s weather dependent so we shall see.

2. Do you like Nutella? Peanut Butter? Chocolate?

If you say no, I may question your sanity.

3. Any favorite desserts you’ve had lately?

P.S. If you’re just catching up on posts from the weekend, here are mine since Friday

You are seriously becoming the dessert queen of the blogosphere, I’m telling you!! Outdoing yourself with each and every recipe. If I could afford it right now, I’d be on a plane in a heartbeat to enjoy your delightful company and your badass desserts! ;)

I want all of everything you posted. PB and nutella? YES PLEASE RIGHT NOW. When I was in Thailand I ate a crepe with Nutella and banana every day for breakfast (in hindsight I called my mom complaining about how crappy I was feeling almost every week when I was over there…)

best thing I did this weekend – submitted an app to a 200 hour RYS summer intensive training :) Yay!! Best thing I ate- gluten free chocolate cupcake from Babycakes. I’m so in love with those, I make a weekly trip and splurge. Yum.

OMG. Seriously, those bars look absolutely scrumptious!! I love chocolate and peanut butter together and the heavier and denser the better. I am making those tomorrow for my boys! They will be soooo happy! I gotta say, Averie, the thing I love about your recipes is that 1) they are simple and easy to make and 2) the taste is not compromised due to #1! Thank you for your yummy posts! :-)

Best thing I ate this weekend? Some steamed broccoli combined with a delicious salad, all sprinkled with nutritional yeast! YUM!

wow YUM! nutella, pb, choc yes yes yes!
this weekend has included lots of crazy waitressing shifts, a farmers market, tons of samples and sales at a cheese and wine shop (! so fun), and lots of time with friends. IT’s been a good one so far. Enjoy your day with the camera tomorrow, I also LOVE planning days like that.

Your description of it is mouth-watering. I don’t think I could (should) keep these around though…it’s too tempting and I have serious self-control issues with sugar and chocolate :(

I used to be obsessed with PB! I never thought I’d “get off it” – but I tried Almond butter about a year ago – thinking that I wouldn’t like it as much and be able to break my addictions….um, not so much – turns out I love Almond Butter even BETTER!

OH MY GOODNESS! I think I’ve said this about a billion times about things on your blog but these are the best things I’ve ever seen. You must have read my mind because peanut butter + nutella are two of my very favorite things too! And these look so dense and rich and utterly amazing. Averie, you have outdone yourself.

Um. I’m pretty sure you just invented the best thing in the world. Peanut butter? Chocolate? Grahams? Nutella? Is there seriously anything better? Nutella actually brought my BFF and I together! I spotted her in her college dorm room holding a jar and I immediately barged in the room and introduced myself. We then proceeded to bond over the amazingness that is Nutella. Never underestimate the power of chocolate!

Unreal. Oh my god. But I love it!! You certainly don’t see desserts like this in the health foodie blog-o-sphere, which is rather sad. But I must say though, my favourite way to eat nutella is straight up, with a spoon :D

“You certainly don’t see desserts like this in the health foodie blog-o-sphere, which is rather sad”– agreed and it’s why I don’t label myself a health food blogger and why I read lots of baking blogs…at least I get to see things like this :)

there’s my favourite bowl again!!
“Project Ooh and Ahh” – – > awesome. i know you’re progressing into photography more and more, but your writing still draws me in, averie!
great work on the bars. they look amazing. can you believe i have never purchased nutella in my entire life (so embarrassed) – we just never grew up with it, and while peanut butter is a staple, i’ve never gone down the nutella path…gotta fix that!
happy sunday!

These look AMAZING. I was actually going to make something with Nutella in it for my friend’s birthday tonight, but she requested red velvet, so I’m delivering. But that’s okay, because when I finally do many these I can keep them all for MYSELF!

I’ve loved Nutella since it’s pre-US days, when we used to bring back jars from France. That stuff is like the nectar of the Gods.

oh my gosh these look good! i am so making them soon and yes i LOVE nutella & pb. best thing i’ve done this week-end so far is probably hanging out with family on state street! have a great rest of the week-end!
xo~ kristina

I think I’ll have to surprise my husband with these on Father’s Day next Sunday! We are both Nutella, peanut butter, and chocolate fans, but he’s the one that introduced me to Nutella. I’m pretty sure I’ll score some points with this recipe! Thanks!

I love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. But to be honest, I have actually never tried Nutella! I’m not a fan of Filberts (hazelnuts, whatevs) , so I don’t know if I’d like it! But it’s mixed with chocolate, so that’s gotta mean it’s good, right?? Because these bars look soooo good!

I went to a 90th birthday party yesterday and today my husband and I are going to the zoo before hunkering down and actually getting some chores and food prep done. That part won’t be the most fun, but it’s gotta be done!

wow those look…sweet haha! you know, i like the idea of nutella and i favor justin’s choco-hazelnut spread because it’s not too sweet but the real nutella kinda makes me feel tooth rot and a little sick! i had a spiked bourbon caramel sea salt milkshake last night…wow! so good!

Peanut butter + nutella = heaven, probably. :)
I love nutella. So much that I used to over-do it all the time and feel really sick. :P But I’m better about that, now..
One of my faves is nutella inside a thin crepe with sliced bananas (that aren’t too sweet yet).

may i greet you here too?? happy birthday!!! i made that cake batter no bake with chocolate frosting…soo good but so sweet too. what else you think i can use besides the condensed milk? bc i love cake batter!

Just a splash of milk then or cream. You just need the dough to stick together. You are using such a very *small* amt of sweetened cond milk I really just recommend using that but if you must, then sub out and use cream or even almond milk :)

I love nutella and peanut butter. For some reason I had never heard of Nutella in NC (where I’m from). After living in Italy for 5months, I discovered it and absolutely can’t live w/o it. I enjoy peanut butter as well. I have a 1/2 piece of toast of Nutella and Almond butter every morning w/ my cereal. Yum! Also, enjoyed the Aruba posts, I have never thought of Aruba to visit much, but now I really want to go.
Suzanne

Wow, these look great, but like lead balloons too. :-P Awesome job. And great dessert inspiration.

1. Moved mountains on our office and ate brunch at an amazing vegan restaurant.
2. Truthfully I’ve never tried Nutella. But yes on PB and chocolate!
3. My hemp seed fudge balls! Best of both worlds, decadent an healthy. :-)